Waving flags, and fake flying rifles are all part of the show as winter guard prepares for their first competition of the year Saturday at Coppell High School for the NTCA Coppell High School Competition.

“The biggest way we prepare ourselves for a show is really just by working to practice how we want to perform,” color guard teacher Eric Mills said via email. “I try to stress to students that we need to always imagine the audience watching us so that we can perform in rehearsal like we want to perform in a show. Once we master this visualization, we will always be prepared to perform!”

Both the varsity and junior varsity teams will compete in the local circuit with varsity’s show named Lucy, and jv’s show Symphony.

“I enjoy every aspect of winter guard,” sophomore McKenna Hale said via text. “From the show theme to the elements and performing. It is just all so much fun and I love my team. As winter guard focuses much more on technique, I’ve learned that technique, performance, and hard work are important to this activity.”

The winter guard teams began rehearsing in November and the season will go on until the end of March.

“It’s a true art and skill that works together,” sophomore Kimberly Nguyen said via text. “Competition season is really a way to appreciate all the work and practice that goes into every single performance.”

Updated: Sept. 27  to correct the last name of McKenna Hale. It was incorrectly written as Mendes.